Devices & Diagnostics

PhotoniCare innovating the way doctors diagnose and treat common middle ear infections in kids

Physicians traditionally use an otoscope to examine the surface of the ear drum, and that technology hasn't really changed in over a century. With middle ear infections affecting approximately 80 percent of children under the age of three, PhotoniCare is working to actually make the middle ear visible with a new device.

Middle ear infections are extremely common in young kids. In fact, according to the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, middle ear infections occur in 80 percent of children by the time they reach age 3. They are a leading cause of hearing loss in children and the most common need for surgery in children. As of right now, an otoscope is traditionally used by physicians to examine the ear, but that technology hasn’t really changed in over a century and only looks at the surface of the ear drum.

For this reason PhotoniCare (created at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and now operating out of the EnterpriseWorks incubator) has developed a new handheld imaging tool, CLEARVIEW, which actually allows a physician to look through the ear drum using optical coherence tomography to better identify the characteristics of a middle ear infection. By identifying and treating an infection quickly and more effectively, money can be saved for providers and patient outcomes can be improved.

Dr. Ryan Shelton, PhD, CEO and Co-founder of PhotoniCare, was one of the winners of the 2015 annual National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation Competition (which is now accepting applicants for its next round of innovations to be awarded).

In a phone interview, he discussed where the idea for PhotoniCare’s device came from and what the future looks like for the company’s continuing development.

How did you get involved in technology designed for middle ear infections?

“I’m a parent, and both of my children went through really severe, chronic ear infections. I’m very familiar with the problems both for the children and the parents. We [alongside Diego Preciado, MD, PhD and Nancy Bauman, MD, both otolarynologist at Children’s National] really wanted to see if we could solve some of the problems that existed there. This technology makes it a lot easier for physicians to make decisions about prescribing antibiotics and prescribing surgery in children.”

Can you expand on how CLEARVIEW differs from the traditional otoscope?

“With an otoscope you are looking at the surface of the ear drum and guess what’s going on in the middle ear, literally, which is where the disease occurs. Our technology still provides that surface image, but we can actually look straight through the ear drum and visualize the middle ear space so we can see things like fluid or biofilm that are indicative of a child who needs surgery.”

Because otoscopes have been used for so many decades and aren’t meeting a critical need, why do you think no one has done what you’re doing thus far?

“For one thing, there have been technologies developed designed to try help solve this problem. There was a company that tried to commercialize an ultrasound technique to image the middle ear. The problem with ultrasound is you’re either going to fill the ear with gel or fill it with water, which isn’t pleasant for an adult, much less a screaming child. What we do is use light. We don’t have to put anything in the ear.

Part of it [CLEARVIEW] is that it’s novel technology. The other part is that this particular area just hasn’t seen a lot of innovation. There’s an exceptional potential to fill a void there.”

Where does the company stand financially right now and the progress toward commercialization?

“We developed a lot of the technology under a $5 million NIH grant. That allowed us to produce very functional prototypes before we even spun the company out, which was earlier this year. It’s been a pretty big year for us – several grant awards that total to be about $2 million, along with some private capital. We’re really expecting some milestones now.

This is a regulated device by the FDA, we’ll have to get approval 510(k), and we expect that to happen in early 2017. Over the next year we are collecting clinical data.”

Photo: Screenshot via PhotoniCare

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